Currently there are a number of multichannel microphone solutions for recording sound for 360 video or virtual reality applications. Some of these solutions attempt to record sound for use in various production situations, but these solutions fail to meet the needs of the industry because of the physical nature of the microphone enclosures. Simply stated, the existing multichannel microphones do not fit into the workflow dynamics that exist in an audio/video production process.
Some of the currently available multichannel microphones do not easily integrate with camera systems. They get in the way of the video camera's field of view rendering the microphones unusable. Other multichannel microphones attempt to record sound for various production situations, but these solutions are similarly unable to meet the needs of the industry because they lack companion software to render the recorded sound. Still other multichannel microphones seek to record immersive sound for various productions, but fail to meet industry needs because they only record sound from one perspective and cannot be head-tracked in 360 video or virtual reality applications. Lastly, existing microphone systems are cumbersome and slow to install on pole stands.
It would be desirable to have a multichannel microphone that records an immersive sound field for 360 videos and virtual reality content that fits into the production work flow with mounting capabilities that doesn't obstruct the cameras. Furthermore, it would also be desirable to have a means to render and play back recorded sound from a multichannel microphone based on head-tracking data from a 360 video or virtual reality end user. Still further, it would be desirable to have a production work flow optimized multichannel microphone paired with positional audio rendering software to solve such problems.
Henceforth, an improved production work flow optimized multichannel virtual reality microphone that has its own rendering software to create a complete solution for recording, rendering, and playing back immersive, head-trackable positional audio for 360 video, gaming, and virtual reality applications would fulfill a long felt need in the audio recording industry.
This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.